Darangen Epic Chant

Oral Traditions and Expressions, Including Language
D
arangen Epic Chant
Much later on, Datu Salaria asks Sondayo
to accompany his cousins, Daugbolawan
and Lemolak, to Manelangan. They intend
to propose marriage to Bolak Sonday and
Benebong. While traveling, they meet Ba’e
Pigdindingan who confronts them. They
kill her but revive her at night. Reaching
Manelangan, they see that Bolak Sonday has
many suitors. The parents of Bolak Sonday,
however, demand so many gifts which the
suitors could not provide. Sondayo, with his
magic, is able to comply with all the demands
for his cousin. They are finally accepted.
Datu Lumalab and the other datus engage
them in battle. Sondayo leaves his spear to
fight on its own, defeating the datus after
several months of fighting. The cousins,
using a golden bridge, return home bringing
their wives.
Sondayo falls ill when he returns to
Liyasan. He asks his magical scarf, monsala,
to fetch Bolak Sonday and Benebong, but
they arrive too late. Sondayo is already
dead. Bolak Sonday looks for his spirit in
the underworld, while Benebong searches
the upper world. Three weeks pass but they
could not find him. Benebong then searches
the heavens, while Sonday focuses on earth.
But still they fail. Finally, two birds tell them
that they should search for Sondayo’s soul
in Tubig Piksiipan, where he is a captive of
amazons. They ride on their own magical
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monsala with the help of lightning. They
fight the amazons for two months for
Sondayo’s spirit and defeat them. They wake
Sondayo up from his deathly sleep and
quench his thirst with the sweat of the sun
which he asked for. They bring it to him in a
golden cup then they all return home.
Disaster befalls Bolak Sonday when she
cuts herself while preparing betel-nut quid.
She dies. In return, Sondayo and his kindred
search for her spirit.
MARANAO, LANAO DEL SUR PROVINCE, NORTHWESTERN MINDANAO
ISLAND, SOUTHERN PHILIPPINES. This is the epic chant of the Maranao of
Lanao del Sur province. It has been inscribed in the Representative List of the Intangible
Cultural Heritage of Humanity having been declared a Masterpiece of the Oral and
Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2005. It was declared a National Cultural Treasure
of the Philippines by the National Museum and a Provincial Treasure by the province of
Lanao del Sur in 2002.
The two birds again reveal that her spirit is
in Katonawan, a prisoner of a datu. Sondayo
battles the datu and frees the spirit of
Sonday. He revives her and they both return
to Liyasan where everyone celebrates.
Later, his cousins request for his assistance
in obtaining the dowry needed for Datu
Tulog to marry Lengotubig. He goes to
Tubig Sumina. Sondayo, with his magic,
obtains the dowry.
He returns to Liyasan. There, he dreams
of a buklog being celebrated. He wakes and
gets his kin and wives to go with him to join
in the celebration. They ride their monsala
to Manelangan where the buklog is being
held. The buklogan rises entirely to heaven
and when it descends again, Sondayo and
his relatives are not in it anymore. They have
remained in heaven.
JTP
© Renato S. Rastrollo / NCCA - ICH (Ramain, Lanao del Sur, 2007)
A Maranao onor or master chantress (back to the camera) recreates the tales of the Darangen, safeguarding
its continuity among her young apprentices.
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THE DARANGEN is an epic chanted by the
Maranao people in the core area of Lanao del
Sur in Mindanao. Although other variations
exist among Maranao ethnic communities, such
as the Maguindanao ethnic group and Manobo
groups to the east of the island, the one in
Lanao del Sur is considered the most definitive.
It is a pre-Islamic form of oral literature
presently existing in an Islamic context. Parts
of the epic point to influences from Southeast
Asian cultures, reaching as far west as India.
The recorded Darangen is composed of
about seventeen cycles in iambic tetrameter
or catalectic trochaic tetrameter. Each
cycle is independent of the others, if taken
individually, but a study of the adventures and
lives of the characters in the songs show that
the cycles are connected to one another in a
logical progression.
The first division deals with the reign
of Diwatandao Gibon, the first ruler of
Bembaran, and how he single-handedly built
and organized his kingdom before handing it
down to his sons. It is a treatise on governance
and partly relates the genealogy of the earliest
sultans of Lanao. According to the Darangen,
the people of Mindanao can trace their
ancestry to the five sons and daughter of Aya
Diwata Mokom sa Ka’adiyong a Lopá and
Daromoyod a Olan.
The second division focuses on the journeys
of Bantogen and his sons, their search for
suitable brides, their courtship and eventual
marriages. The third division deals with the
art and techniques of warfare. While the
second division has a section on how to play
the kulintang (a set of graduated gongs) and
other Maranao musical instruments, the third
division is on the different ways of holding the
kampilan or sword in relation to fighting.
The last division focuses on the
disagreements between the characters of the
Darangen, particularly between Bantogen
and the wives and sweethearts, which lead to
divorce. The cycle is replete with lines about
how love is used to bring happiness. The last
song-cycle focuses on the aging Bantogen, who
is on a rock, gazing in the distance, recalling his
past adventures and the excitement of being a
young man.
The word “Darangen” comes from the
Maranao word “darang,” which means “to
narrate in the form of a song or chant.”
Hence, Darangen means “that which is sung
or chanted”. It is in listening to the lines of
the extravagantly worded Darangen that one
discovers its beauty. The eloquent expression
of sentiments finds its power in the liquid
flow of vowels and consonants of the classical
Maranao language. It also employs literary
devices that are used to manipulate words and
phrases to produce the desired effects and
imagery. The listeners’ attention is captured
by these language devices. Moreover, it is
rich in allegories, similes and metaphors,
personifications, irony and satire. The epic
also uses symbolism to maximum effect. The
imagery is laden with meaning.
JTP
© Renato S. Rastrollo / NCCA - ICH (Ramain, 2007)
(from left) The formal entry of the young Darangen chant apprentices to meet their onor for another day of training.
A view of the mystical Lake Lanao. The Darangen chant is safeguarded in the voice of a child apprentice.
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Oral Traditions and Expressions, Including Language
A
gyu Epic
ARAKAN-ARUMANEN/ILIANON
MANOBO,
NORTH
COTABATO
PROVINCE, CENTRAL MINDANAO ISLAND, SOUTHERN PHILIPPINES.
This is an epic of the Arakan-Arumanen or the Ilianon Manobo of North Cotabato. It is
related to the Ulahingan of the Livunganon Manobo, both having the same characters.
According to Melendrez-Cruz Castro (1983), the two groups used to be one, jointly called
Arumanen Agyu. The epic is chanted without music or dance. The tempo of the melody is
determined by the nature of the incident being narrated
THE AGYU HAS TWO PARTS: pemahra/
pamara or the invocation and the ulahingon
or the narrative proper. The ulahingon has
two parts. The first is kepu-unpu-un, which is a
standard narrative about the history of Agyu’s
family and how they fled to Nalandangan and
became immortal. This is recited rather than
chanted. The second is sengedurong, which is
chanted and continues the history. It deals with
the continuing adventures of Agyu and his
relatives in Nalandangan, which is a paradise
on earth. There are many Agyu stories.
The heroes, Vanlak/Banlak, Agyu and
Kuyasu are the sons of Pemulaw/Pamulaw.
Agyu has four sisters. They gather beeswax
in the forest to trade with the Moro. One day,
Agyu sends nine lumps of beeswax to his
trading partner, the Moro datu. The datu did
not like the amount and throws it down, hitting
Kuyasu’s foot which has an ulcer. Kuyasu
spears the datu. Banlak returns to Ayuman
and reports to Agyu. Anticipating retaliation,
Agyu and his brothers leave their homeland
and build a fort up a cliff. They gather logs
and boulders that can be rolled down the
slope in case of an attack. When the Moros
finally attack, they are met with these logs and
boulders, killing them. Agyu decides to resettle
again at the Pinamatun Mountains. While on a
hunting trip to the Sandaya mountain (Mount
Apo) his brother Lono/Lena cuts a path on
the mountainside, while his two sisters are
left behind. While swinging on a vine from
bank to bank over a stream, their feet were
stung by bees. They locate the beehive. Agyu
arrives with a small pig. They feast on the meat
and honey. Agyu remembers Banlak’s wife,
Mungan, whom they left behind due to her
illness. Banlak refuses to fetch her to join in
the feast. Lono volunteers to bring Mungan
her share of the feast. She, however, refuses
this. She gives Lono betel-nut and young rice
to distribute to the people. Lono returns to
Pinamatun and tells Agyu that Mungan has
turned immortal having eaten golden betel-nut
and golden rice. Banlak wanted to return to his
wife but Agyu forbids him, having abandoned
her before. When the betel-nut and young
rice were distributed, the people felt new life.
Agyu returns with the people to Ayuman, but
they find Mungan having already ascended
to heaven leaving only a golden house. They
decide to continue their journey until they
reach Tigyandang, known as Nalandangan.
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Other episodes have been documented; e.g. The
Sengedurong of Tanagyang, the Son of Agyu; The
Battle of Nalandangan; Agyu Gets a Husband for
His Sister; The Marriage of Tabagka; Tagyakusa
and the Black Datu; Capture of Nalandangan;
The Warriors of Saliga Attack Nalandangan and;
Matabagka Searches for the Deity of the Wind.
JTP
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